A Nudge in the Right Direction
by Anglerfish
Summary: While Max was on her date with Sam, Nudge was having a little talk with Fang. Threeshot, Fax fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Maximum Ride belongs to the ultra fabulous JP, not me.**

**A.N.: This takes place during SOF, right after Max leaves for her date with Sam, and is from Nudge's POV. Faxness!**

I grinned to myself as I stood at the top of the stairs, watching the front door close behind Max. She was on a date! A date with a real human boy! As in, 100 human. Completely normal. That seemed a little weird to me--Max with a real, live, completely human boy. But really awesome, too.

I heard something behind me and turned around. Fang was standing there, also watching the door. He looked really annoyed about something.

"Hey, Fang, what's wrong?" I asked. "'Cause you look really mad about something--is it because Max is going on a date? Like, he could be an Eraser or something? And also, we might not stay very long here, even though it's nice. Don't you like it here at Anne's? I do. Anyway, if we leave, Max might be sad because she doesn't want to leave Sam. Do you think she'll be sad, Fang?" (I do most of my thinking out loud.)

Fang looked startled by my question, then his face went completely blank. "Nothing's wrong," he answered, but I knew something was, 'cause of how tight his voice sounded. "I just don't want Max to...to get too attached to anyone."

"That's what I thought," I said, nodding, but then something occurred to me. "Wait--you don't think we should get too attached to anyone?"

"No."

"Well, then why were you with that girl?" I asked. "A few days ago, I saw you at school with some girl, the one with red hair. You know? She was hanging all over you and I even saw her kiss you on the cheek! But it was the day of the field trip, so I forgot to ask you about it. Anyway, aren't you attached to her?"

Fang just stared at me for a moment, then said slowly, "No. No, I'm not."

"Oh." I waited for him to say something else. When he didn't, I added, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Not exactly."

I was getting tired of his short answers, so I said, "Well, then why'd she kiss you? I mean, I don't see why she'd do that unless she's your girlfriend."

"Apparently she likes me," Fang replied calmly.

I sighed. "And...do you like her? She looked real pretty but she wears too much make-up. Is she nice? Are you going to ask her out?"

"No, I guess, and no."

I stared at him, confused, until I realized those were the answers to the three questions I'd asked. But that wasn't helpful--I wanted to know what was going on! "Well, then, why'd you let her kiss you?"

I expected no emotion at all in the answer, but Fang shrugged, looked down, and mumbled, "No reason." His cheeks reddened slightly, and he looked almost embarrassed, except Fang is never embarrassed.

I knew I was on to something. "There has to be a reason. Were you just being nice? I guess you wouldn't want to tell someone you didn't like them if they liked you. That would feel kind of mean. But I don't see why you'd just _let_ her hang around like that. It seems like it would get really annoying. Unless you had a reason--but what reason would you have?" I suddenly got an idea. "Ohhhh! Maybe you'd do that if you liked someone else, to make them jealous. But who else would you like?"

I was just saying whatever came into my head, not really thinking about it much, but that last question got a reaction out of Fang.

"No one," he half-snapped at me, and started walking away.

Well, that pretty much proved me right. "I wonder who it is," I said, following him down the hall and into his room. "Someone from school? But you said we shouldn't get too attached, so it can't be that. But then it would have to be--oh." The truth suddenly occurred to me.

"Yeah, _oh_," Fang said, sitting down on the bed. He wasn't looking at me.

I sat down at his desk. "And that would be why--" Why he looked so annoyed. "Oh! I get it now! Well, Fang, I don't think you should hang around with Lissa if you don't want to." Then I realized something else--Max had seemed kind of annoyed with Fang lately, and she hadn't mentioned Sam at all until he asked her out. "And anyway, you don't need to. You're just making Max mad."

"She's jealous?" Fang looked up at me, seeming slightly interested.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, _duh_. I can tell from her tone of voice when she talks to you, the way she looks at you...it's obvious. I mean, I didn't figure it out until now, but _now_ it's obvious."

"She's on a date with someone else right now, Nudge." Fang sounded unhappy again. "She can't be too jealous."

"No, she is," I told him patiently, knowing that, being a boy, Fang might not understand the great art of Interpreting the Behavior of Teenage Girls (I'm only eleven, but I have it mostly figured out). "This is revenge. Now _she's_ trying to make _you_ jealous. So now you're at a stalemate--you made Max jealous with Lissa, she made you jealous with Sam. One of you has to do something."

"Like what?"

"Like you showing Max that you like her." Seeing the horror-struck expression on his face, I added, "You don't have to tell her straight out. Just be a little nicer. Show her that you appreciate her. Trust me, she'll get the message."

Fang looked like he was thinking about it. "She really likes me?"

"She really does." I almost went on, but Fang didn't really look like he wanted to be talked to anymore.

I stood up and walked out of the room, leaving him to think about what I'd said. Fang was pretty lucky he had me--'cause if he didn't, he'd be _clueless_.


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N.: This takes right after the first chapter left off, and is Fang's POV.**

I sat on my bed, thinking about what Nudge had told me. Max liked me. Max really, actually liked me. That is, she did if Nudge was right.

But I had no way if knowing if Nudge really knew, or if it was just a completely random guess. All in all, I wasn't exactly ready to pledge my undying love and affection to Max, at least until I was sure she wouldn't laugh at me.  
Maybe I should take Nudge's advice, and be a little nicer. It wouldn't hurt, anyway. And maybe I should do something about Lissa.

If Nudge was right, then Max was jealous of Lissa, and that was the reason she'd gone on a date with Sam--to make me jealous in return. Well, it sure was working. But maybe, if I broke up with Lissa, then Max would get the message and break up with Sam. It was worth a try, anyway.

I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out a small piece of paper. Lissa's phone number. She'd given it to me at school. I'd had no interest in calling her before, but I decided this was the best way to tell Lissa that I wasn't interested. Anyway, I wouldn't have to see her face while I did it. I mean, Lissa's kind of annoying, and I never would've put up with her if it weren't for Max, but I didn't want to really hurt her or anything.

That decided, I stood up and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where the cordless phone was. I picked it up and dialed Lissa's number, hoping she was home. I was feeling kind of guilty, and wasn't sure I'd be able to try this again the next day.

Luckily, the phone was picked up after one ring. "Hello?" said a female voice on the other end.

"Um, hi," I said, gripping the phone more tightly than necessary. Okay, I admit it: I'd never used a phone before. Hey, I'm part _bird_, okay? I had a seriously deprived childhood that wasn't normal by any stretch of the imagination. "This is, uh, Nick Ri--"

"OMG! Nick!" squealed the person on the other end. It seemed to be Lissa, who had an unnatural fondness for using chatspeak in normal conversation. "I was, like, hoping you'd, like, call me! This is, like, soooo awesome!"

"Uh, yeah," I said, unsure how I was going to break up with Lissa when she was in this sort of mood. "I kind of have to talk to you ab--"

"That's, like, soooooooo sweet!" Lissa gushed. "I wanted to, like, talk to you, too, Nick! Oooh, guess what!"

"Um, okay. What?" I wondered where this was going.

"Gucci just, like, made the cutest new purse!" Lissa was practically hyperventilating with excitement. "It's, like, made out of La Pelle Guccissima! And I'm going shopping, like, tomorrow! Isn't that, like, sooooo awesome?"

"Yeah...that's awesome," I said vaguely, hoping that Lissa would be finished talking soon. Unfortunately, she kept chattering at me (she'd moved on from purses to shoes) as I wondered when I'd finally be able to say something.

"Nick!" Lissa said, finally getting my attention. "Are you, like, listening to me?"

"Um, yeah, of course I'm listening," I said quickly. "You were talking about your new pair of Gucci shoes."

Actually, I hadn't been listening, but with Lissa, it's pretty easy to guess what she's talking about.

"They're just, like, the absolute cutest pair of shoes I've, like, ever seen!" Lissa said. "I, like, got them yesterday when I..." I tuned her out until I heard my name. "Nick, do you, like, want to go shopping with me tomorrow?"

I decided it would be rude to inform her that I'd rather have my eyes stabbed out with blunt needles while standing on white-hot coals, so I just said, "Look, Lissa, I really need to talk to you about something."

"Ohhhhh, right! Well, what do you, like, need to talk about?"

"Um...you and me. Because--"

"OMG!" Lissa squealed. "Of course I'll, like, be your girlfriend! You're, like, the hottest guy in the whole school! This is, like, sooooooo awesome!

"Lissa," I said, determined to just get this over with, "that wasn't what I was going to ask you."

Silence.

"See, I just...I don't think we're...compatible. It just wouldn't work out--"

"Ohhhh, I get it!" Lissa sounded relieved. "You're, like, JK, right? LOL! That's, like, so funny! So, like, do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow? Because, like, it would be sooooo much fun, and you could, like help me pick out a purse, and—"

"Lissa." I was getting a little annoyed. "I'm. Not. Kidding. It's over. I'm breaking up with you."

"You're _what_?" Lissa sounded shocked, like how dare I do such a thing.

"I'm breaking up with you," I told her firmly, hoping she wouldn't start crying or something. Lissa was something of a drama queen.

"But, Nick...I'm, like, totally in love with you," she protested. She didn't sound hurt at all, though. She sounded like a spoiled child who's had her favorite toy taken away.

"Lissa, you're in ninth grade," I reminded her. "I don't think you're in love with me."

"I...guess not." Lissa paused. "Okay then. I'll just, like, ask Kyle out or something." Kyle was the super-popular captain of the football team. "He's, like, hotter than you, anyway."

"No hard feelings, right?" I said, just to make sure.

"Nope!" She sounded completely cheerful. "See you at school, Nick. I'll, like, show you my new purse. Bye!"

She hung up before I could say anything. Lissa was absolutely unbelievable. I sighed and put the phone down.

I headed upstairs to my bedroom, almost bumping into Nudge as she came out of Anne's room. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh, hey, Fang," she said, obviously trying to sound casual. "I was just...um..."

I wondered what she'd been doing (it was obviously something she shouldn't have been), then remembered that Anne had a phone in her room that was connected to the same line as the one in the kitchen.

"Nudge," I said threateningly, as I realized that she'd been listening to my conversation with Lissa, "I think we need to have a little talk."

She grinned and shrugged. "Hey, it was only fair. You never would've done it without me."

I stared at her for a moment, then relented. "Okay, fine." I didn't really care that much, anyway. It was only Lissa.

"Same goes for you telling Max you like her," Nudge said, walking past me and out of the room.

"No way!" I called after her, horrified. "You _cannot_ listen if I'm trying to tell Max. Absolutely not!"

She just laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: This takes place immediately after School's Out Forever ends, and is from Nudge's POV.**

I lay on the beach, squeezing my eyes closed and trying to keep my breathing deep and even. Staying still and quiet doesn't exactly come naturally to me, but I had to do it. Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, and Total were already sleeping, and that left Max and Fang--awake--_alone_.

Well, except for me. But they didn't need to know that.

I was pretty sure that Fang was by now brave enough to tell Max that he liked her, but I knew he'd only do it if they were alone. And that simply wouldn't do. I had to be there! I wanted to see it! I figured Fang owed it to me--if I hadn't given him that little talk at Anne's house, he'd still think that Max was in love with Sam or something.

I could hear Max and Fang talking to each other, and it was all I could do not to wiggle with excitement. I slowly, carefully opened my eyes just a slit, hoping my eyelashes would cover them enough so that I would look asleep, but still be able to see.

It worked! I could see Max and Fang sitting next to each other (very close, I might add), and she was asking him how they could tell her and Max II apart.

I was hoping for something romantic ("There's no one as spectacular as you" or "You're too perfect to imitate" or something like that), but instead Fang grinned and said, "She offered to cook breakfast."

Well, okay then. They both burst out laughing, anyway, _leaning against each other_! It was a good start, I thought.

They finally started to calm down. Max's eyes were watering from laughing so hard, and she leaned her head back, resting it on Fang's shoulder. It was taking all my willpower not to move or speak.

She opened her eyes, and she and Fang just looked at each other for a moment. He moved marginally closer to her and leaned down, just a little. I was freaking out. Max's eyes were wide, staring at him, and Fang hesitated, pulling back a little--

"God, Fang, just kiss her already!"

Both their heads snapped around to stare at me. Max looked bemused, and Fang's face had turned bright red.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. Smooth, Nudge, real smooth. I couldn't restrain myself, okay? I really did have to sit up and yell that at Fang. I would've, like, spontaneously combusted or something if I hadn't. He was moving so _slowly_, and it looked like he'd been about to lose his nerve.

"Nudge," Fang said slowly. He was still blushing like crazy, but he looked pretty dang mad, too.

"What?" I asked, refusing to be intimidated. "It's not my fault! You're the one who wasn't brave enough to just kiss Max. I mean, it's obvious you were about to, but then--"

"Whoa, slow down," Max interrupted. "Nudge--what are you talking about?"

For God's sake! "I'm talking about how Fang was, like, _this_ close to kissing you just now!" I said, indicating just how close by holding my pointer finger and thumb about half a millimeter apart.

Max looked at Fang, for confirmation or contradiction. From the mortified look on his face, the second one seemed more likely.

"Don't you dare deny it!" I told Fang sternly before he could say anything, then turned back to Max. "He pretty much _told_ me straight out that he likes you, but I'd already guessed anyway. The whole _flock_ probably knows, for crying out loud! Seriously, Max, he's head over heels for you."

Max, apparently speechless, looked at me, then at Fang. I glared at him, like, If you don't tell her, I'll kill you.

There was a long pause. Finally, Fang coughed nervously. "Um, yeah. What she said. Sort of."

I rolled my eyes. "'Sort of'?"

"Okay, fine." Fang turned to Max. "Yes, I'm 'head over heels for you,' as Nudge put it; yes, I did tell her that because she figured it out on her own anyway; and yes, I was seriously considering kissing you." He glared at me. "Happy?"

I beamed. "Yes. Thank you. And I promise you won't regret that."

We both looked at Max, who seemed kind of in shock. She was just staring back at us, her mouth hanging open.

"Okay, you know what?" I jumped to my feet. "I'm going for a walk. I really wanted to see this, but it's not working. I think you two need some time alone to figure everything out." I headed off down the beach, turning to wave and call, "Have a nice talk!"

I turned back and walked along the shore, just out of reach of the surf. I wanted so, so bad to go back and see exactly what would happen, but I knew that wouldn't work. Max and Fang wouldn't be able to really talk to each other with me there.

I've never been very good with self-control, but I managed to stay out of their way for awhile. Once I cheated, though, and looked back at them. I'm not completely sure, because I couldn't see them clearly, but it sure _looked_ like they were leaning awfully close to each other.

So I think everything probably worked out okay.


End file.
